DON'T TAKE MORE THAN YOU GIVE.
And the level of this lesson for me has been profound. I can ask myself a question about anything, and at the root of the issue, I can always go back to this simple statement. And as the holiday season is upon us, I think its important to really explore this.
I love the holidays. I love wearing my fuzzy scarfs and warm boots. I love the warm beverages like peppermint mocha's and pumpkin chai's. I love how my town gets all Norman Rockwell. But mostly, I love what the season represents: love, family, and the human connection.
When I do think of Christmas, I do have a tinge of apprehension as well. In fact, my family has discussed leaving town for the holidays. Why? Why on earth would I do that when I love the holiday?
I have become increasing more disappointed with what is going on in our country by the minute. But don't get me wrong. This did not happen overnight, and I think its pointless to put 100% of the blame on ONE guy. Sorry. Yes, I have my political beliefs, but ONE man didn't cause this (that can go either way depending on your political affiliation). We all played a part in allowing this to happen. When I think about the all holidays in our country, it makes me heavyhearted to think how it has become a marketing machine.
It's no secret that our country has become completely money-focused. We have shifted our perspective to the sole focus of "conquering" the world for money. Our greed has spiraled out of control. And I know that individually, there are some wonderful, amazing, giving people in this country, but collectively, we are all contributing to this mess.
Over-consumption is simply a situation in which the sustainable capacity (ability to be maintained) of our ecosystem is overwhelmed the resources we are taking. We are taking more than we are giving back to our environment, at a faster rate than it can recover. One more time; we are killing our world; we have become parasites of the earth.
par·a·site (Merriam-Webster)
: an animal or plant that lives in or on another animal or plant and gets food or protection from it
: a person or thing that takes something from someone or something else and does not do anything to earn it or deserve it
For me, my journey has become about simplifying life. The world was a better place in time when families lived within their means. We used time and devotion as tokens of our love. In a time when quality over quantity ruled, we all (hopefully) had enough. And I am very guilty of this too. I have a closet full of clothes I don't wear, that I bought because I thought I "needed" them. Stupid.
My recent philosophy about gift giving has drastically evolved. When I buy a gift, I like it to be meaningful and intentional to that person. That is my way of spending some time, really thinking about the recipient. And I hate it when people say gift cards are impersonal. For some individuals, a gift card could be a well thought out gift. My grandmother for instance, has waaayyyy to much shit, and she doesn't want anymore useless crap to dust. But one thing she LOVES is going out to lunch with her girlfriends (you go GG!), so everyone knows to buy her restaurant gift cards. Or a pre-teen girl could love a gift card to a trendy clothing store to have a little freedom for the first time.
My point is that we have to move away from mass over-consumption during the holidays. It is so driven by a ginormous marketing machine of the major retailers. And in our materialism, we have become enslaved to it. And then we set ridiculous expectations for ourselves to outdo "last Christmas". Just stop. I guarantee that if you put love and thought into someones gift, they would rather have that than several cheap, meaningless things that will just accumulate in a pile in the back of a closet/cabinet/drawer.
I have attached some links to resources for meaningful gift ideas. If this is new to you, when you are thinking about someone to buy for, write down a list of key traits, likes, hobbies, and passions for that person. It doesn't have to take a long time, just enough to get you focus your thought on them. Then circle the top 3-4. Google gift ideas using those words to see if that sparks any inspiration. Another thing that has been helpful to me is thinking about creating a memory or experience versus just the gift itself. That's why I like restaurant gift cards for my grandmother, as it creates positive memories for her and her friends. Or for my daughter, I like artsy, creative things because it is something we can do together to have an experience.
http://www.pinterest.com/
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/7-ideas-for-stress-free-meaningful-holiday-gift-giving/
http://simplekids.net/gift-giving-philosophy/
Have an authentic, simple and beautiful holiday season!
K
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